Cookie Shenanigans
December 24th,1989 - Harry
Yawning Harry debated the possibility of just going back to sleep. Just hours before they'd finished Percival's trunk. Once they'd stopped attempting to take the trunk out. It went a whole lot smoother, getting the trunks in with Loki was easy. They survived the trip into the box perfectly functional. Once they'd managed to stop the deterioration of the spells on it. Everything was perfect. Removing the trunk the same way in order to recharge the ward stones.... impossible. No matter how many times they tried the trip out always destroyed the trunk. So, they'd gone with Harry's idea to create a vanishing cabinet set using two extra trunks. Sending things back and forth was a good idea. Trying to send the ward stones through wasn't. They fizzled out and ended up damaged beyond repair. That problem was solved by Death volunteering to charge the stones inside the trunk. At the moment it was the only quick solution to be found.
With that finished both Harry and Death had collapsed on his bed. Death was still 'sleeping', and by sleeping Harry meant more like a meditative state. Death didn't really need to sleep. Harry had found out that this was the time Death did his work. Harry being Death's anchor or t.v. bunny ears as he was. Allowed Death's connection to the other side of the veil to be clearer. According to Death the world and the multiverse was too widespread. So, there were multiple versions of Death and a lot of reapers. It was simply too much for one person to handle. Though Death could remember a time when there was less than a ten people alive. The beginning of it all had resulted in only a small population from one world with only one universe. The beings in question hadn't been all that intelligent. But it was a little mind blowing to hear Death mention it so casually.
It truly must've been lonely watching the worlds unfold. Watching empires and civilizations rise and fall. Multiverses popping into existence only to be destroyed not long after. The marvels of having an angel? God? Harry was just going to stick with entity. For all that the bible mentions Death as an angel. Many other ancient texts claimed the being to be a god like being. Harry wasn't sure if Death would actually tell him if he asked. So, in his meditative state Death wandered around as an astral projection. Death viewed the souls that were reaped and weighed it. Not physically mind you it was more like the entity considered their final destination. Death didn't have the final say but he did make suggestions for each soul. Purgatory was a rather common place to end up. It was like the 'waiting' room of the other side. Some souls never truly left that place. Though Death says that was more due to the soul rejecting its placement. And if you weren't left in heaven, hell, or purgatory the soul would end up back in the cycle. Reincarnation was a regular practice for many souls. Even the souls in hell were eventually allowed to after a set amount of time. Surprisingly many of the souls in heaven chose the same. But their numbers were few and it rarely occurred. The souls of purgatory were the most frequent 'fliers' of the cycle. Souls weren't infinite by any stretch of the imagination. New freshly made souls were incredibly rare. Death said the last 'new' soul had been born some hundred years ago. Which Death said was about the average. Every couple hundred years a small number of 'new' souls were created. Though the number of 'new' souls had gone down drastically.
With so many multiverses with copies of the same soul wandering around. It wasn't deemed necessary to add new souls into the mix. Harry was still weirded out to know there were alternate versions of himself. Even more so Death had mentioned that Harry was one of his usual companions. Apparently, the multiverse Harry's always ended up tied to Death somehow. It apparently varied by circumstances in each world or timeline. Death did mention that there was a hand full of souls that were like Harry. If they were like him did, they know what he knew? Did they know their significance to Death?
It was pointless to wonder as Death kept his secrets. The only thing he knew for sure was that Death said the other two weren't tied to Harry. That they all served their functions one way or another. The only nexus point they shared was a bond with Death. And their bonds were all different. Harry apparently had the strongest bond in any given universe. He looked at the sleeping furball one more time before getting up. After a quick shower he felt a thousand times more human than the zombie he walked in as. Harry wasn't sure even what to do today. He'd been so obsessive with his project that Harry had barely noticed anything. Like how Sirius hadn't dropped by in two days. But that wasn't horribly concerning in itself. He'd long suspected that Sirius and Caspian were either more than friends or leading up to it.
Grabbing Percival's box Harry went down to the kitchen. It was after all Christmas eve! He wasn't sure if Sirius was coming today or tomorrow for the festive holiday. But it had been a while since Harry had cooked. Perhaps Christmas cookies? Humming to himself he informed the elves that he was baking today. He even told most of them to take the day off. They were shocked and tearful, and after many explanations he was alone. Popping open Percival's box started grabbing the utensils and bowls.
"Good morning, Harry." Percival said.
Harry smiled.
"It is indeed a good morning! I... I'm sorry that I've been worrying you. I'm still not used to having people care if I'm exhausted. I got a little caught up in a project." Harry said, trying not to ramble.
"Project? What kind of project has you looking like a sickly raccoon?" Percival asked, teasingly.
Harry huffed...racoon? Oh, he must still have eye bags. He couldn't recall the last mirror he'd looked into with purpose. He'd been looking at the mirrors for Percival's trunk. Harry had been far too focused to care about his reflection.
"You'll get to see it tomorrow I promise. I just hope that you'll like it!" Harry said, nervously.
Grabbing the last of the materials he needed. Harry started carefully measuring flour into two separate bowls.
"Wait it's for me...Harry no matter what it is there is no need to exhaust yourself this way. I appreciate that you care about me so much. But I know I will most likely be trapped for many more years. I can wait..." Percival started.
"But you shouldn't have to wait! You shouldn't even be in there to begin with!"
"I know Harry. What are you making now?" Percival asked.
Harry frowned at the change of topic. He knew that the issue in question was basically a moot point. But it frustrated him beyond words to know that Percival was hurt. Maybe not physically but emotionally and mentally. Being in there and knowing how much time had passed. It had to have to some kind of effect on Percival. Only Loki knew for sure how Percival coped in the confines of the box. Out of sight where Harry couldn't see him. Percival was incredibly skilled at keeping his emotions to himself. Harry didn't know if that was natural for Percival or if the man had hidden it from Harry. So as to not concern or distress him. But Harry wasn't like other children, he'd rather know the truth no matter how painful. And he wished that Percival would just talk to him about it. They talked about a lot of other things. But they never talked about Percival's life, his time in the box, or Percival's feelings about the first two. And Harry hadn't wanted to ask as he'd feared upsetting Percival too much.
"I want to make sugar cookies and gingerbread men." Harry replied.
It wasn't for just him, Sirius, and maybe Caspian. No, some of these cookies were for Percival. The man might not need to eat, but Harry wanted the first thing the other man to taste to be one of his cookies. Because even if Harry couldn't yet liberate him. It wasn't a complete loss, now he could care for Percival and give him a home. The only working house-elves were the ones in Percival's trunk. The elves were unpacking and setting up the house. Stocking up the cabinets and setting up the furniture. Later tonight Harry planned on writing and placing notes about how the house functioned. As well as the cookies he was going to leave.
After mixing the ingredients and rolling out the dough. Harry placed the trays in the oven and the remaining dough in the fridge. There was no sense in letting the dough get warm in between baking times. The gingerbread dough was a little harder as Harry never made that particular recipe before. And Loki most certainly didn't help and neither had Death. The entity had 'woken' up and now the chaos duo was in the kitchen with him. Harry huffed and Percival laughed as the fuzzballs wrestled around the countertop. Ending with Loki getting chucked into the flour bag. The bag flailed around before falling on its side. The flour covered niffler tumbling out starfishing flat on his face. Harry grinned, as Loki got up and swiped the flour from his eyes. He shook his fur like a dog and focused his beady eyes on Thanatos.
Loki ran fast taking a running leap hitting Thanatos. Both of them flew back landing in the mixing bowl. Said bowl went flying and crashing to the floor. Harry wasn't sure if he was mad or concerned. Looking down he saw the remnants of the bowl in shattered ceramic shards. And in the middle of the shards were the two furries still fighting. Death was pulling Loki's fur and Loki was biting Death's hind leg. Harry rolled his eyes as he started the kitchen sink up. Filling it with bubbles he sat out some towels and turned back around. Both nifflers had caked on gingerbread dough in their fur. As well as flour all over them. Harry didn't say anything or even approach them. He just levitated the still tussling furballs and unceremoniously dropped them into the water.
Spluttering outraged squeaks sounded as the water swished around. Two furry heads popped up glaring murder at Harry who glared right back.
"Don't give me that you little menaces! You ruined my cookie dough, broke my dishes, and made a mess. Just because magic can fix it, and the rest can be cleaned. Doesn't mean we can just do what we want. And Death really? How old are you again? Loki has an excuse he's an actual niffler. After your bath I don't want to see hide nor hair of either of you in the kitchen!" Harry said, tersely.
Sure it had been a little funny at first. That was before he'd just witnessed that little altercation. It reminded Harry of two angry fighting cats. And bravo for Loki having the world's biggest balls. The furry menace was still alive after biting Death. He purposely washed Loki first knowing Death could wait. Death hadn't replied to Harry's lecture and had been sitting in the water. After scrubbing out the last of the dough. He was drying Death off when he spoke.
"I didn't mean to mess up your cooking." Death said, his little body drooping.
Harry sighed.
"It's okay I'm not thrilled. But it's just cookie dough." Harry mumbled.
"That may be but after working so long and hard on your project. I made you work more to clean up my mess. When all you had wanted was to relax and bake for a bit."
Harry picked up Death cradling him in both his hands.
"You came to this side of the veil because you wanted to experience human interaction. You wanted to feel and understand human emotions. You just helped me do something magically intensive. And you did most of the work. I just wasn't strong enough or experienced enough to be much help. If you were human, you'd be tired and ornery right now. You don't usually pick fights with Loki for the fun of it. Maybe you should sleep like a human...dream like a human. It might improve your mood even if your body doesn't need it. Sometimes the best thing you can do is nothing." Harry replied.
Death blinked at him considering the statement.
"Dreaming...?"
"Dreams mean many things for humans as a whole. Its most literal definition is the state of mind during sleep. A secondary definition is a goal or a career choice. Some people love their jobs because they're that person's dream job. Which could also be considered a goal since most people wish for a dream job as a child. My current dream or goal is to ignore the people trying to find me, get Percival out, and be an amazing wizard. The most common dreams are wants for future times. Most people dream of a happy life, of family and marriage, others dream of adventures and grand discoveries. Dreams motivate and keep people going. But those are figurative dreams, I was speaking more of the sleeping kinds of dreams. In a dream of your mind's creation, you can be anything, anyone, or anywhere. Creativity is the world's greatest achievement. Without creativity we would have nothing. No cities, technology, medicine, art, religion.... We'd have nothing and our species might've died off during the stone age. After all we needed creativity to create tools. Without those tools survival was slim. Anyway, dreams are the greatest expression of thoughts and emotions. What better way is there to understand humans?" Harry replied.
Death tilted his head staring at Harry.
"Perhaps you're right. You are an interesting little human." Death mused.
Harry smiled.
"Good now apologize to Loki for being an ornery old man." Harry teased.
He tickled Death's belly causing him to squeak and flail. Sitting him down next to Loki, he responded to the timer by getting the sugar cookies from the oven. He'd found various cutouts in a kitchen drawer. He'd been using them throughout his conversation with Percival. Leaving them on the cooling rack he used the last of the dough. And popped them into the oven too, with replacement ingredients Harry started on the gingerbread dough again.
He saw Death and Loki curled up together on the counter. Death seemed to have taken his suggestion literally. Returning to his cookies Harry mixed and finished prepping the cookie sheets. He finally made quick work with the cutouts. The kitchen was suspiciously quiet...looking over at Percival he found the mirror blank. He frowned wondering what happened to the man. Maybe the niffler smack down bothered him? The man could feel Loki's emotions now. So maybe he was just upset over the fight? Harry was a little put out by the man's absence. But then what exactly would they have talked about? If he took away his projects and spell learning. What would they talk about? Percival never had anything new to talk about. And Harry himself hadn't done anything interesting recently. Just shopping and spellwork for Percival's trunk. Which Harry couldn't talk about if he wanted it to remain a surprise. Maybe it was a good thing Percival had gone back in...? No... No, it wasn't good at all. That damn box hid Percival from the world.
The man in question had plenty of reasons to be upset. And it caused a never-ending frustration that Harry could do nothing to help. After Christmas and a small break, he'd go back to trying to understand Ancient Runes. Instead of focusing on making homemade cream cheese frosting.
Caspian-
Caspian wasn't in a very cheery mood despite Christmas literally being tomorrow. His thoughts often strayed to his brother Archimedes. The house-elves had informed him of his brother coming and going. It was normal for people to leave their houses. What wasn't normal was the times in question. Archimedes had been leaving the house anywhere from 1am-4am. Sometimes he'd be gone for an hour. Other times Archimedes wouldn't get home until 4am or after.
Which begged to question what the hell the other man was doing. If Caspian didn't have his suspicions already about Archimedes motives he'd wonder if the man was having an affair. Otherwise, why else would one leave their house when his family was asleep? For all of Archimedes' faults he'd never been a cheater at least as far as romantic relationships went. But it was becoming apparent to Caspian that he might not know his brother as well as he'd thought. Which stung on more than one level. They were family and yet Caspian couldn't remember the last time he'd seen his brother for more than a holiday. He'd seen Ernie and Ismerial on all the time. Which only made Archimedes absence all the more glaring.
Caspian would've gone to work to distract himself. But the Wizengamot and the courts were often closed near the holidays. The Ministry remained open and the Auror office had to at least have four people in the office. Incase of emergencies or Merlin forbid someone actually commits a crime. He'd thought about spending time with Sirius. But he'd decided not to, this was the first Christmas since Harry's infancy that he'd get to spend with Harry. He really didn't want to bring the mood down. So Caspian had opted to do a little more shopping. He had plenty already purchased for Christmas. This trip was more so a distraction as well as an opportunity.
Yes he'd gotten Sirius somethings already. But they were small gestures of affections. And Caspian while wanting to go with a larger gesture of affection was hesitant. They weren't in an official courting only casually dating at a slow pace. They hadn't even had sex yet. Casually touches, hugs, and kisses...but not sex. And it was certainly too early for an declaration of intent. Was it still too soon to make an overture? Sirius was still seeing a mind healer a few days a week. And since finding Harry the other man was doing a whole lot better. But Caspian was still concerned overall. Sirius had just lost all of his friends. And up until their recent change in relationship Caspian had been his only friend. Sighing he made his way to Marsha's shop. Marsha was a muggleborn girl from his school year. She was very gifted with selfcare charms. She often altered them or even used muggle products.
It was time to stop worrying and just relax. Stepping into the shop and shaking off snow. Caspian walked through rows of hair care potions. Soap bars and muggle shampoos and conditioners were to the left most wall. To the right most wall was selections of pomades, gels, and those muggle hairsprays. A short blond witch with high cheekbones and pouty lips greeted him. Her name tag proclaimed her to be Alexia.
"Is Marsha in?" He asked.
"She is but I can help you with whatever you may need." Alexia replied, smirking.
Her expression was flirty and inviting. Too bad she had nothing he wanted.
"I'm sure you can but I'd rather see Marsha. Tell her Caspian is here to see her." Caspian replied.
Alexia pouted and sauntered to the back. Did she really think that shit was attractive? Shaking his head he opened his eyes in time to have an armful of bubbly brunette. Marsha Edgington was 5'5 her brunette hair fell in graceful ringlets. Warm brown eyes were regarding him excitingly.
"It's been so long! You have to catch me up on everything! Come on I gotta get that groove between your brows taken care of!" She said, pulling him into the back.
"Groove?"
"Yeah, you've got that 'I'm worried about something' stress groove going on. No worries I'll have it smoothed away before you leave." Marsha said.
Once in back he stripped off his coat and laid on the chair in the center.
"So, what am I doing today?" she asked, eyeing him.
"A slight trim to my hair. Maybe a facial massage and mask." Caspian said.
She waved her wand making his hair damp. Combing the wet strands out to cut.
"What's worrying you Cas?" Marsha asked, her voice soothing.
Should he tell her? Marsha wasn't a judgmental person, nor would she gossip about anything he said.
"If you're worried about Alexia, once the door closes nothing can be heard out there." She said.
Relief flooded him and he sagged into the chair more.
"I don't know what to do about my brother. I planned on talking to him after Christmas. But....it's so." He trailed off.
"Cas, take your time and tell me everything. Maybe I can help you figure it out." She replied.
Marsha had finished trimming his hair and was now working it into a soapy lather. When she'd grabbed the washing bowl he had no idea. Her fingers worked through his hair in soothing patterns. So, he told her all about Archimedes as well as his suspicions. She remained silent until he'd finished talking. Marsha had finished washing his hair and was now massaging in a potion.
"That's seriously messed up! I can't believe he asked you that! If my brother said that to me, I'd have fed him to venomous tentacula! The absolute nerve of that man! And you really think that's what he's after?" Marsha asked.
"I can't think of any other reason why he's suddenly acting this way. I'm really concerned as to who he's meeting at night. It's...unsettling to feel this way." Caspian replied.
"Unsettling is only one word I'd use. Followed by backstabbing asshole!" Marsha exclaimed.
Caspian laughed loud and free. He had really needed that! Marsha too had lost her battle to remain outraged on his behalf. As her giggles broke through the air. He stopped laughing as she started carefully massaging his face. For the next few minutes, the room was silent as the tension he'd been carrying melted away. It was only after she'd applied a face mask that he started telling her about Sirius. The general public knew about what had happened. It was a completely different story living it. And if she'd been mad about what was happening with Archimedes. She'd been spitting mad about Sirius, especially after hearing how fragile the man was. She'd decided on her own to work on his fingernails. It was after she'd left his nails soaking in potion that he talked again. This time about their relationship and how it developed.
"Aww, that's strangely kind of sweet like...an act of fate." Marsha said, excitedly.
"You don't think it developed too fast or that it's too dependent?" Caspian asked, his brow furrowed.
"Now quit ruining my hard work! Look the way you guys met was a little out there I will give you that. Is he only dependent on you? Does he have no one else to rely on?" Marsha asked.
She finished with his left hand and started on his right.
"Well, no he has his cousins and his uncle." Caspian replied.
He'd nearly stumbled and said Harry. But instead lumped the boy in with 'cousin'. Technically Harry's grandmother was a Black so cousin would be accurate. Not that anyone needed to know that. But his other relatives Sirius wasn't close to.
"Well, then the question of dependency is void. If he has other people to go to if he needs support than it's all good. You guys aren't attached to the hip? He doesn't have break downs or panic attacks without you?" Marsha asked.
"Well, no... but he just fell out with his friends and..."
"If the answer is no to my questions, then it's not dependency. Secondly, if what you told me is true than he has every right to dump his friends. And thirdly, that doesn't make your relationship the byproduct of convenience. Your giving Sirius too little credit. So, what if you guys getting together is a little fast. There are people who meet and get married the same night. That doesn't mean that their relationship is for nothing but convenience. He trusted you and chose you to be with. It's as simple as that and I get the feeling he'd tell you that himself. It's not like your sleeping together yet. I know for a fact you aren't the kind of guy who takes advantage of people. So, stop worrying...stop thinking and just be there with him. And if he changes his mind and finds someone else then it was never meant to be. But the only person whose holding you back is yourself Cas." Marsha said.
She'd long since finished his nails and washed off the face mask. The difference was indescribable he felt oddly lighter. The foreshadowing of Archimedes aside, Caspian felt better than he had in days.
"Feel better now?" Marsha asked, as she studied him.
He stood up and engulfed her in a hug. He really should've gone to see her sooner. Marsha always had a way of making him see what was right in his face. And then she'd trip him up and then fix him. He really needed to have her meet Sirius. They'd get along really well. She hugged him back fiercely.
"Now go fix your problems and then you better go on a double date with me. I'm dying to meet Sirius; he sounds like he'd be fun." Marsha said, smiling.
"I will it's been far too long." Caspian agreed.
They said their goodbyes and he walked out never once looking at Alexia. Whatever happened this Christmas he'd be ready to deal with it.
Harry pov-
Harry was happy to be finished baking. After a great deal of time frosting the cookies. Harry had already had a house-elf place it in Percival's trunk. The best part was when Death woke up with Loki. Harry's cutouts had been magical creatures. There were gingerbread owls that he made look like Hedwig. As well as gingerbread men and wreaths. The sugar cookies took on the most character. There were snowmen and Christmas trees. But the most colorful ones were his niffler cookies. Half looked like Loki, and the other half looked like Thanatos. Harry had given a Loki cookie to Loki...the look of confusion had sent him into a giggling fit.
But it was Death's reaction that was more surprising. He'd handed Death a Thanatos cookie. The entity's eyes looked suspiciously shiny as he actually hugged the cookie. Then he looked upset that the cookie was ruined. So, Harry had cleaned the frosting out of his fur again. He applied a strong preservation charm to the next cookie. Harry hadn't really thought about it, but this was probably the first time anyone had made something for Death.
Death had mysteriously vanished cookie and all. Harry wasn't mad about that either. Death came and went as he pleased. Percival however hadn't reappeared which worried him greatly.
Percival-
In the darkness of the box Percival sat. His knees tucked under his chin. It was one thing to know time had passed without him. But to know another Christmas was coming. Well, it was hard. But he'd tried to be there for Harry.
That is until the niffler fight had broken out. It was upsetting to watch. But he could also feel Loki's confusion and annoyance. His brave little friend gave as good as he got. And Loki wasn't physically hurt so he just left.
Percival wasn't feeling very festive anyway. All he really wanted to do was cry. It was hard to hope when nothing ever changed. But that wasn't entirely true, was it? Harry had appeared. But how long would that last?
No matter how smart Harry was he was just a kid. There would come a point of time when Harry just forgot him. Just moved on forgetting all about the man in the box. And then he'd never leave this hell as he went slowly insane.
And wasn't that the most heartbreaking thought yet?